It was the year that was packed with promise before the bells even began to chime at midnight and 2012 began to dawn.

A bonus bank holiday to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee was in the offing for most of us.

(Just like 2011 when Wills and Kate tied the knot.)

And we were all set to host the Olympics and Paralympics.

(Although most let out a huge yawn at the very mention of London 2012 at the beginning of the year. Super Saturday soon turned those frowns upside down.)

The events diary wasn’t all good, though.

The end of the world was also forecast by an ancient central American civilisation.

(But we all survived, obviously.)

So what wonders will 2013 bring?

As the Mayan Apocalypse proved, it’s impossible to fully forecast how the future will pan out.

But, going on past experiences, here are some predictions that could come true over the next 12 months.

January: Solar flare sent to Coventry

City folk have been spotted sporting an orange glow and sparkling in unusual places.

It was feared that they had been struck by a rare solar flare, which last hit Earth in 1859, and threatened to crash power grids and cut off food supplies. Three years ago scientists predicted one was due to hit Earth at this time – but the suspect events in Coventry turned out to be residents taking part in their own local version of TOWIE.

February: Midland arrests in Savile saga

Operation Yewtree casts its net over BBC Birmingham.

During a dawn raid on the props department, cops leave with The Pipkins’ Hartley Hare; the Spitting Image puppets; Playschool’s Humpty, Big Ted and Little Ted; and the Teletubbies’ Tinky Winky and Dipsy. Nobody at the Beeb is safe.

March: Brummie culture honoured across Europe

Oops, sorry got that wrong. It’s actually Derry-Londonderry culture that is in the spotlight across the continent this year, after Birmingham lost out to the northern Irish city for the culture crown back in 2010.

April: The most beautiful woman in the world a Brummie

Samantha Brick eats her heart out as she discovers that she has not won the esteemed title. To add insult to injury her home city’s very own Floozie in the Jacuzzi statue is given the honour.

May: Hosepipe ban declared in Tewkesbury

As the Gloucestershire town’s river banks burst for the umpteenth time in 2013 the Environment Agency declares that the area is at risk of drought, and that water is scarce.

June: European Football Championships kick off

It’s the Women’s Euro 2013, which England qualified for in September. There are some who scoff at females playing football. But lets face it, they can’t possibly be as bad as Roy Hodgson’s crew. The glory of 1966 could finally be relived.

July: Black Country style

A new dance craze sweeps the world via YouTube. It features older men and women wearing cowboy hats and boots swinging their hips and shouting “Bostin’” while eating faggots and peas.

They’re known locally as the line dancing club from St Jezebel, but with a billion hits in less than a nano-second they’re set to be even bigger than Korea’s Psy.

August: Ozzy Osbourne airport opens

Excited sunseekers react with surprise when they turn up for their flights at Birmingham Airport and discover it’s been renamed after the Prince of Darkness, who once bit the head off a bat.

Children are scared but he’s the best celebrity that Brum has got. Council chiefs gave the plans the thumbs-up in a new attempt to boost the city’s slick, sophisticated image.

September: Royal birth

Kate and Wills are among the thousands of couples showing off their new babies. There’s been a huge surge in births allegedly caused by a popular erotic novel packed with ‘mummy porn’. It is not known whether Kate was a fan, but she did turn Fifty Shades of Grey soon after she fell pregnant.

October: Plebaniagate

Police raid Polish shops across the Midlands and quiz traders and customers in the ongoing investigation to find out whether a Birmingham Tory MP used the word ‘pleb’ or not when addressing an officer.

It is believed one of them might have been walking past the gates at Downing Street at the time as the officer concerned forbad the MP from riding his bike through, but inquiries draw another blank as it is discovered that the Polish nationals were merely discussing a popular soap opera in their homeland, Plebania.

November: New Zealand Hobbit tour blamed for Midlands turning into a ghost town

Birmingham City Council declines to respond to requests to promote Tolkien’s links to the region so thousands rush to the other side of the world to experience where the blockbuster film was shot.

December: Tough year turns to gold for Midlands

Metal detectorists find more gold in Staffordshire.

The latest hoard is said to be worth zillions and the Midlands begins a bid to become an independent nation, with its own Brummagem language and laws. Critics predict the Yow-all-roight-apocalypse, bab.